


Wish

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Birthday Wish, Candles, Fireworks, Fourth of July, M/M, Teasing, al is a flirt, birthday fic, lud has never been to al's birthday parties before, lud is awkward, mention of world war 2, naps and observations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 14:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15172736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: Ludwig is driving himself insane trying to keep himself in check when he's around Alfred. How in the world was he supposed to go to a birthday party and not mess anything up? Besides, he'd never been social enough for parties anyway. But...maybe this was going to be the best party of his life.





	Wish

To say he was nervous was absolutely and undeniably true. Ludwig had been to so many different parties in his life and he had even been to some of Alfred’s own events. He couldn’t count the times he’d gotten onto a plane and flew across the ocean just to attend an event that Al had planned, actually. But, he had never,  _ never, _ been to one of Alfred’s  _ birthday  _ parties.

They had always been exclusive events. He’d hear about them from the people that had been invited or he’d see the celebrations in pictures at a later date. His brother had been invited a couple of times. If he was to believe what he was told, his brother was invited to the  _ first _ official birthday that Alfred had ever celebrated. He, on the other hand, had always been excluded from the festivities. 

To be fair, he suspected it was for numerous reasons that he hadn’t been invited before. The primary one being that Alfred had not attempted to get to know him until fairly recent years and when they had first started talking the world had still been reeling from everything he and his people had done. It was not something he could take back but he wanted to. 

Even then, it had taken them years to get anywhere bordering on personal. Hell, he hadn’t learned what Alfred’s favorite color was until the 60s (it was red). That was several years ago still.

The other countries continued to look at him in utter disapproval but at least he was making progress. Which he supposed was why he had been invited to America’s birthday party. The only problem with that was that he hadn’t been to Alfred’s house in  _ decades _ and also that he may or may not have developed a  _ slight _ infatuation with the other man. Maybe.

In his defense, Alfred had approximately a trillion freckles and a smile brighter than the sun and strength that could stop a freight train. Mental strength--though he supposed the statement was true either way and it wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate Alfred’s body...perhaps he should redirect his thoughts. Obviously, he had a serious problem and Ludwig was awkward at  _ regular _ parties; he didn’t know how in the world he was supposed to fly to Alfred’s house, spend the entire day with him, sleep in the same house, and somehow, someway, not say something or do something stupid.

Honestly, the odds were not in his favor. Despite his lack of belief in himself, Ludwig found himself ringing the doorbell to Alfred’s house, feeling exhausted from his flight. It was so early there. Time differences were so weird.

Alfred answered the door wearing an oversized t-shirt and some pajama pants. He blinked blearily up at Ludwig, though he wasn’t sure whether it was because he was sleepy or because he was lacking glasses, “Did your plane already touchdown?”

Ludwig tried not to focus on how undeniably cute the shorter man was and cleared his throat, “Yes, I forgot about the change in time when I scheduled the flight.”

Alfred hummed and stepped to the side of the door, “Well, welcome. I would very much like to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. I mean, if you don’t mind, of course. I just-- I was up late.”

Ludwig wasn’t going to stop him from getting more sleep; besides, while he didn’t normally take naps, he was exhausted as well. So, he nodded and entered the house, following behind Alfred as he showed him to the guest room, “I usually have a lot of people staying in the house on the fourth and you’ll probably have to share the room with someone else. I don’t like when people drink and drive, you know? But, right now, the room is all yours. I’ll be upstairs if you need me. You’re welcome to eat anything in my fridge.”

Within minutes of Alfred leaving the room, Ludwig was asleep curled around a pillow on top of the blankets.

He was shaken awake probably several hours later by Alfred’s warm hands, “Hey, bud. People will probably start showing up soon. You want to be awake, right?”

Ludwig pushed himself into a sitting position before stretching his arms above his head, “Yes, thank you.”

Alfred chuckled, “You’re cute when you sleep, you know. Very peaceful.”

Ludwig couldn’t help the heat spreading through his face as he redirected his eyes to Alfred’s face. His hair was wet, he realized, he must’ve just gotten out of the shower, “What time is it?”

Al shrugged, “Somewhere around eleven?”

He wasn’t shocked but he still wished he hadn’t slept that long. There went his hopes of sleeping through the night. Which meant that he would probably be awake at times unknown to most of the world worrying about things that didn’t matter. Like whether or not he had any kind of chance to get Al’s attention. Or whether he was acting strange enough to give away the secret to anybody.

His brother, probably.

Oh no, his brother.

He really hoped that Gil didn’t try anything when he showed up. He had left earlier than Ludwig to get here but he also had rented a hotel room. Something about getting vomited on the year before. Regardless, his brother had always been the type to flirt with people  _ for  _ him even when Ludwig really wished he wouldn’t. If Gilbert perceived interest, he was trying to set him up and Lud--not for the first time--really hoped that he wouldn’t say anything this time.

Alfred raised an eyebrow and grinned, obviously amused, “Do I have something on my face? Or are you still asleep?”

He had been staring. Of course, he had been staring.

Dammit.

“Your hair is wet.”

Alfred looked up as if he’d be able to see it, “Course it is! I just washed it.”

He knew that. He wasn’t dumb.

Alfred cocked his hip to the side just enough to catch Ludwig’s attention and gestured to the door, “Well, I’ve got some breakfast ready down the hall so whenever you’re ready you can come join me.”

He smiled again and exited the room allowing Lud to gather his thoughts. It was only after he started to change clothes and fix his hair that he realized that Alfred still hadn’t been wearing his glasses. He got stuck in his t-shirt from his heart stuttering so hard.

By the time he reached the kitchen, he felt like it had taken him  _ years  _ to get dressed--not that he hadn’t been dressed before but his clothes had wrinkled when slept and he--nevermind. Alfred was leaning over his island counter with milk dripping down his chin and a bowl of cereal sitting in front of him. In contrast, there were scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits sitting on the stove waiting to be eaten. Ludwig’s eyebrows furrowed together and he pointed to the food, “You aren’t eating?”

Alfred shook his head, “I mostly fixed it for you and Gilbert, I guess. He always shows up fairly early saying that he’s starving and demands I cook for him. This is usually what I fix and you were here early too so I made enough for you too.”

Ludwig blinked, “But why aren’t you eating any of it?”

He shrugged, “I just prefer cereal. There’s cheese in the eggs but if you don’t want that I can make some without the cheese. I have more eggs. Actually, my fridge is completely stocked right now and that rare for me.”

He was rambling and if Ludwig told anyone that he didn’t think it was cute he’d be lying. He shook his head, “No, thank you for breakfast.”

Alfred smiled and wiped at his chin, “You’re welcome! Did you have a nice nap?”

He nodded, honestly, it had been the best sleep he’d had in a long time. Ludwig stood on the other side of the island with his food, not sure what to say next. Fortunately, Al started babbling about random topics while he ate. Occasionally, he’d glance up at the American and wonder about the lack of glasses on his face. Eventually, Alfred stopped talking and locked eyes with him, looking as if he were searching for something, “Why do you look so confused?”

Ludwig subconsciously moved his hand to his own eyes, “Your glasses are gone.”

He tilted his head to the side, obviously confused, “I always wear contacts on my birthday? I’ve lost my glasses too many times to wear them around all day.”

He blinked, “I’ve never been here for your birthday. How do you lose your glasses?”

Alfred honestly looked surprised, “Oh! I forgot about that. And I move around a lot when I’m having a good time and it gets really dark and I just do things that cause them to fall off and then when I find them they’re broken. So, I have contacts for my birthday and I wear glasses the rest of the time. Why? Do I look weird without them on?”

He swallowed the food that was in his mouth and shook his head, “No, I just wasn’t expecting it. The frames hide a lot of freckles.”

_ WHAT DID HE JUST SAY??? _

Alfred put his chin in his hands holding back laughter, “Really, now? Tell me more. How many freckles do you think they hide, exactly?”

Lud blushed and looked away, “That’s not how I meant to say that and you know it.”

Alfred chuckled, “Yeah, I know. Though, if we’re talking about things that get hidden, then maybe  _ you _ should stop wearing long sleeve shirts and covering up those muscles of yours.”

His face felt like it was on fire as he choked on his spit, “I never said you should stop wearing your glasses.”

Alfred burst out laughing, “No, maybe not. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to take off your shirt. Maybe, walk down my streets and give my people something to look at?”

He didn’t know how he was supposed to respond to that. Was Alfred flirting with him or joking with him? He had absolutely no idea. 

“You shouldn’t tease him, Jones.”

He didn’t think either one of them was expecting Gilbert to be standing in the doorway. Regardless, Al jumped up and launched himself toward the white-haired man almost immediately side-hugging him, “Glad you could come! Can I get your vote on something? Should Lud, or should he not, take that shirt off and give the people a show.”

Gil raised his eyebrows, “He probably only has one other shirt to put on, you know. And I doubt the sleeves are much shorter. Although, it is the middle of summer you should be in something cooler, Lud.”

Al clapped a hand on his brother’s back, “I never said he needed to put another shirt on, Gil.”

Gil snorted, “Ah, I see. You want him half-naked.”

Alfred wiggled his eyebrows at him, “Doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.”

Ludwig crossed his arms self-consciously, “I’m not stripping.”

Alfred laughed again, “Well, I tried. My poor citizens may never know.”

Gilbert snickered, “You’re terrible.”

Ludwig slid further away from the other two taking his plate with him. He tried not to focus on how freely his brother and Alfred interacted with each other.

* * *

 

Nearly nine hours later, everyone else had arrived and Ludwig found himself continuously drifting toward the back of the progressing party. He wasn’t really sure what had been going on for the past three hours but he knew that they were about to have Alfred blow out some candles on a cake that Matthew had brought and then they were going to set off some fireworks.

Currently, Alfred was sitting in front of the cake with Gilbert staring him down as if he were insane, “Make a wish, Al. You better make a wish. What’s your wish?”

Alfred laughed and blew out the candles, “It won’t come true if I tell you, Gilbert.”

Gil threw his hands in the air and cursed under his breath. If Ludwig knew anything about his brother it was that his brother was drunk. He, on the other hand, was painfully sober and becoming more and more awkward as time moved on. Or at least he felt like he was. Almost no one had talked to him beyond greetings since breakfast. It seemed the energy he radiated was repelling even the nicest people at the event.

Which was fine with him.

It wasn’t like he felt like he belonged there either. It wasn’t their fault.

Alfred called for everyone to go outside, ready for the fireworks to start. He found himself at the back of the group, lingering several feet away even once everyone was outside. The first firework whistled into the sky, exploding in red and sizzling as it went out. At the second one, someone bumped his side unexpectedly and he took his eyes off the sky. In between the second and the third he focused on Alfred just quick enough to hear him say, “Do you want to know what I wished for?”

On the third firework, he nodded and waited as Al shifted from foot to foot, staring at the ground. 

On the fourth explosion, Alfred’s body collided with his as he desperately attempted to make himself taller. Ludwig belatedly realized that he was trying to kiss him.

Finally, on the fifth, he managed to stall his panicking thoughts and lean down to capture Alfred’s mouth with his own. The other’s body noticeably relaxed against him and Ludwig couldn’t help but wonder if he made Al as nervous as he made him. Alfred flattened his feet against the ground and broke the kiss, grinning almost proudly as he redirected his eyes to the sky. 

“I think this might be my best birthday ever.”

Ludwig smiled and stood a little closer.

He hoped that his own birthday would be just as phenomenal.

**Author's Note:**

> All kudos and comments are appreciated


End file.
